June 5, 2022 UPDATE

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Newsroom, 05.06.2022, 18:56

Ukraine — The Russian army attacked Kyiv on Sunday morning with rockets fired from strategic bombers flying over the Caspian Sea, the Ukrainian air forces announced. According to an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, the target of the attack was the railway infrastructure of the capital. Moscow, on the other hand, claims to have destroyed tanks and other armored vehicles sent to Ukraine by European states. At least one of the missiles allegedly flew a dangerously short distance over a Ukrainian nuclear power plant, the state company operating the unit said. The capital of Ukraine has been the target of numerous Russian bombings since the outbreak of the war, especially until the Russians were forced to withdraw from the area. Meanwhile, fighting continues in the town of Severodonetsk in the Luhansk region, one of the main targets of the Russians at the moment. The Ukrainians announced that they had recaptured part of the town, and the British Ministry of Defense confirmed the success of the Ukrainian counter-offensive. Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned the West that its military will strike even harder if Ukraine is provided with longer-range missiles. The Russian leaders statement comes after the United States and the United Kingdom announced that they would deliver high-performance missile systems to Kyiv. Spain has also announced that it will increase military support for Ukraine and provide it with Leopard tanks and anti-aircraft missiles.

Environment — World Environment Day is celebrated every year on June 5. This year, the theme chosen by the United Nations is “We only have one Earth” and emphasizes the need to bring people and nature back to the balance lost in recent decades. In Romania, several actions took place to draw attention to the urgent problems of the planet, such as climate change, biodiversity, pollution and waste. Pupils, students, teachers, along with professionals in the field of environmental protection and representatives of civil society were involved in these campaigns. This year marks 50 years since the UN General Assembly established Environment Day to make people more aware and responsible for the environment and its condition.

Baccalaureate – More than 126,000 Romanian high school graduates have registered to take the Baccalaureate exam in the session that begins on Monday. There are over 111,000 young people enrolled in this years edition and more than 15,000 from the previous ones, who can only take certain tests. Three days are scheduled for the assessment of oral communication skills in the Romanian language, then the graduates belonging to national minorities will have the test of communication in their mother tongue. Digital skills will be assessed between June 8 and June 10, and the oral assessment of a foreign language will take place between June 14 and June 16. The written tests will be held in three consecutive days, starting with June 20 with the Romanian language test, and the first results will be announced on June 27, when graduates will be able to contest the results.

Pentecost — Tens of thousands of Catholic believers from Romania and aboard participated, on the Catholic Pentecost days, in the pilgrimage in Şumuleu Ciuc, in central Romania which is considered the largest of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe. Some pilgrims covered impressive distances, on foot or on horse back, to go and pray at the open air altar located between the mountains. The pilgrimage from Şumuleu Ciuc has a history of over 450 years, being based on the miracle-working statue of the Virgin Mary. The Catholic believers prayed for peace and wellbeing. This years motto of the pilgrimage is Peace and well-being, which is also the motto of the Franciscan Order. The Marian shrine from Şumuleu Ciuc was visited, on June 1, 2019, by Pope Francis, on this occasion the miracle-working statue of the Virgin Mary being removed from the church, for the first time after the Second World War. The Sovereign Pontiff then held a service dedicated to the Virgin Mary and offered a golden rose to the Marian shrine, as he always does when he goes to the places of pilgrimage dedicated to the Mother of God. (LS)